Men take first, women third in MPSF Championships

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The BYU men’s swimming and diving team reclaimed its title as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Champions with 751 points and the women’s team placed third with a score of 620 points after four days in competition.

“I’m just so proud of all of our athletes, with their performances and getting lifetime-best times,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “We had enough men to put together a great conference team. Our men expected to win and we came out and we did it.”

With 712.50 points, UC Davis won the women’s championships and UC Santa Barbara took second with 638. Hawaii took second in the men’s competition with 619 points and third was Pacific with 442.

“We had some great swims tonight, a lot of our women did a really good job today trying to step up and battling for our spot,” Brooks said. “Our women had a pretty rocky year with injuries and such. All things considered, I’m very proud of them.”

Senior Hailey Campbell swam the 200 backstroke in 1:57.25 to beat her UC Santa Barbara competition and won. She leaves the conference as 3-year reigning champion in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke.

Jake Taylor completed his sweep in the backstroke events, taking first in the men’s 200 back with a time of 1:42.42, a time that should put him on the boards nationally. Rainer Ng took second place for the Cougars, finishing the event in 1:46.17.

Freshman Lucas Aquino dominated in the men’s 200 butterfly, finishing first in 1:46.78, almost two seconds faster than his Hawaii opponent.

Chad Sorensen recorded his first win of the series in the men’s 200 breaststroke, beating Hawaii with a time of 1:59.22. Hayden Palmer placed third in the same event in 2:00.88.

In the men’s 100 freestyle, Rafael Alfaro swam a 44.76 to earn second place, just under a tenth shy of his Hawaii opponent.

Dallin Johnson was impressive in the men’s 1650 freestyle event, he earned third place for BYU in 15:50.36.

Freshman Riley Buer swam great in the women’s 200 breaststroke, taking fourth place in 2:16.38.

Next, Kimberly Doroghian earned another top-five finish in the meet, finishing fourth in the 200 fly with a time of 2:01.72.

Andrea Grant was the women’s top finalist in the 100 freestyle, taking seventh with a time of 51.24

In the women’s 1650 free event, Camille Okelberry finished in seventh for the Cougars, she swam the event in 17:08.81.

Day Three Final Results - Diving

PASADENA, Calif. – Nicholas Suder took second place in Saturday’s men’s platform competition to conclude the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Diving Championships.

“Overall I think we contributed a lot and finished well as a team," head diving coach Keith Russell said. "I would have liked to see us in the finals as a top team [women's], but I feel really good about what we've done and the contribution we made."

Suder scored 271.25 points to earn second place in the final diving event. His Hawaii opponent scored 432.20 points to earn first place. Edward Young took third place for the Cougars with 237.15 points.

"Nic is unbelievable," Russell said. "He's been doing some great things and if he can keep doing those things and maintain a great attitude, he'll have a chance to go to NCAA's [championships] this year."

In the women’s competition, Mackenzie Rands was the top finishing Cougar who took fifth place with a total 197.75 points. Raleigh Williams Taylor followed in sixth place with 188.80 points on the platform.

In conclusion, Suder finished first on the men’s 1-meter and second on the 3-meter and platform boards. Williams Taylor was the top women’s performer, taking third on the women’s 1- and 3-meter boards.

Both the men and women have two weeks off before competing in the Zone E Diving meet at the Air Force Cadet Natatorium Mar. 13-15.